They say good things come to those who wait, and Spokane has been waiting for literally years to see the completion of the Zona Blanca / Brewery Incubator / Steel Barrel Tap House project in Downtown Spokane's Luminaria Building at 154 S. Madison. Steel Barrel held it's soft opening a few days ago, but won't have a grand opening till the end of the month ( Jun. 30th ) . And, perhaps the portion of the business getting talked about the most, Zona Blanca, offically opened today...
Zona Blanca is a ceviche bar , the first of it's kind in Spokane and takes up a small portion of the building at 154 S. Madison . It's owned and operated by Chef Chad White who is originally from Spokane and competed in last season of Bravo's Top Chef TV show . This is Chef White's first restaurant in Spokane as he also owns a couple in the San Diego / Tijuana area where he had been living.
*Chef Chad White also is still planning a second Spokane restaurant known as Native Post & Provisions. A Seattle based food & restaurant blog claims he has found a location in Spokane for this business but it has yet to be announced.
Zona Blanca is a casual counter service ceviche place with a short menu of items inspired by the dishes of Coastal Mexico. Pricing is reasonable and of course being in a building housing a brewery there is plenty of beer to go along with their delicious ceviche offerings.
For more information on Zona Blanca, visit their website at-
http://www.limefishsalt.com
Or, find them on Facebook at-
https://www.facebook.com/zonablancacevichebar
Some of the remaining space will be officially be opening after a June 30th grand opening celebration as the Steel Barrel Taproom . Steel Barrel will be a unique tap room with 30 beers on tap, many of which will be the beers brewed on site in the aforementioned Incubator Brewery, that will occupy the remaining space and will also be unique to Spokane. That's because while Spokane now has several microbreweries there are now spaces where multiple breweries work together to produce their own brands and styles under the same roof.
The Incubator Brewery is a full production microbrewery with agreements between up to five separate breweries . Currently two breweries are already signed on the brew their beers at the Incubator space. They are:
Young Buck Brewing Co.
Little Spokane Brewing Co.
The space plays largely on the building's already historic look and feel , with a somewhat industrial looking décor. It's also of interest that the space is a section of Downtown Spokane that's rapidly becoming a bit of Brewery District. Orlison Brewing , Iron Goat Brewing Co. & River City Brewing Co. all have some sort of operation within blocks of this new business.
Business owners are also still actively seeking other small breweries who want to join the incubator, an often times less costly option for those wishing to join the rapidly growing Spokane beer scene.
For more information on this exciting new complex of locally owned & operated businesses visit either-
http://thesteelbarrel.com
Or...
http://www.youngbuckbrewing.com